Currently, utility companies experience tremendous loss of both electricity and electric meters in blighted and impoverished areas due to theft. For example, when an electric customer receives a disconnect notice and fails to pay his electric bill, the utility provider sends a service person to the customer's home to disconnect the electric service. Typically, the service person cuts the seal on the meter, pulls the meter, places plastic spacers in the meter base, replaces and reseals the meter. However, the delinquent customer can easily re-connect the service by carefully cutting the seal, removing the plastic spacers and replacing the meter and seal so that it looks like nobody tampered with the meter. A period of days, or even months, can pass before the utility provider discovers that electricity is being stolen. At that point, a service person once again pulls the meter, inserts the plastic spacers and then locks the meter with a conventional locking device.
Numerous locking devices have been developed in order to try and prevent delinquent customers from opening electric meter bases and hot wiring the electricity. A most simple locking device is a brass locking ring, which easily can be removed with a pry bar. Other locks can be removed with conventional bolt cutters. When the delinquent customer is persistent enough, he will break any locking device secured to the meter and hot wire the meter base. A major problem with this type of electricity theft is that a potentially very dangerous situation is created by the wide open hot meter base. For example, a person can reach up and touch the hot meter base and be electrocuted. When the utility provider discovers that the delinquent customer is stealing electricity again, a service technician usually cuts the service wires at the weather head of the home. If this action does not deter the delinquent customer, the utility provider can disconnect service at the utility pole. However, disconnecting service at the utility pole is not an option when the same service cable serves several homes. At this point, the service technician has made four trips to the site of the delinquent user.
None of the prior art locking devices are completely effective in deterring theft of electricity because the conventional locking devices are designed to lock the meter base. Thus, a need still exists for a locking device which will connect and disconnect power at the weather head of a dwelling. The installation of such a device should deactivate the meter base and render the meter base cold. Also, such a device should discourage the delinquent customer from destroying the meter base or stealing the meter. Moreover, such a device should require only one trip by a service technician. In addition, such a device should leave the meter base cold in order to prevent injury or death. Further, such as device should save the utility provider money by preventing theft of electricity and loss of meters, which in turn can help lower utility rates.